Plot

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again are expected to follow the plot from J.R.R. Tolkien'sThe Hobbit. The stories presented in both films will, however, include events, locations and characters not found within the novel upon which the films are based, drawing from tales written by J.R.R. Tolkien elsewhere.

According to a Warner Bros. press release for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey:

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands swarming with Goblins and Orcs, deadly Wargs and Giant Spiders, Shapeshifters and Sorcerers.

Although their goal lies to the East and the wastelands of the Lonely Mountain first they must escape the goblin tunnels, where Bilbo meets the creature that will change his life forever… Gollum.

Here, alone with Gollum, on the shores of an underground lake, the unassuming Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum’s “precious” ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities … A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.''—Warner Bros. Press Release[7]

A plot description of the second film, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, has not yet been released.

Issues concerning production

Directorship

The Hobbit as a movie has been anticipated by many fans since the release of The Lord of the Rings. Even before the pre-production began there had been and are still possible issues which could delay the production of Peter Jackson's The Hobbit. In early 2005 it came to the public attention that Jackson was suing New Line Cinema.[8] This cast doubt on whether or not The Hobbit would ever be made. Jackson later told fans that, due to the dispute, he would neither direct nor produce the film.[8] In late 2007 it was confirmed that Jackson would not direct, but would be an executive producer for two Hobbit movies.[9] It was later announced that Guillermo del Toro would direct the films, and that Jackson will be an active 'executive producer' with the possibility that he would help direct some scenes if necessary.[10]

However, on 30 May2010 it was revealed that del Toro could no longer commit himself to direct The Hobbit films, citing the continued delays in production in his reasoning.[11] Peter Jackson later announced that he would direct both films.[4]

The Tolkien Estate's legal action against New Line Cinema

The estate has [...] asked for a court order giving them the ability to terminate any rights the studio have to make films based on other Tolkien works, including The Hobbit.—BBC News Online[12]

Production of The Hobbit films was held up by the Tolkien Estate's legal action against New Line Cinema. The Estate should have received 7.5 per cent of all profits from the films under the agreement made by J.R.R. Tolkien with United Artists in 1969. Crucially, they also sought to stop the production of The Hobbit films until the case was settled.[12] The legal row was finally settled in September 2009 after the Tolkien Estate successfully sued New Line Cinema for breach of contract and fraud, receiving a reported $220 million in compensation.[13]

Industrial dispute in New Zealand

"...It is a long tale..." — Aragorn
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In September 2010, the production of The Hobbit films was again delayed when the International Federation of Actors issued the following order to all members of its associated unions:

Resolved, that the International Federation of Actors urges each of its affiliates to adopt instructions to their members that no member of any FIA affiliate will agree to act in the theatrical film The Hobbit until such time as the producer has entered into a collective bargaining agreement with the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance for production in New Zeal]and providing for satisfactory terms and conditions for all performers employed on the productions.—International Federation of Actors [14]

This meant that Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema considered moving the production elsewhere, possibly to eastern Europe.[15] However, following talks with the New Zealand government, Warner Bros. decided to proceed as planned to film The Hobbit in New Zealand as originally planned. The New Zealand government subsequently passed legislation to amend their labour laws to ensure that production stayed in the country.[16]

Technical details

3D

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again are being filmed in 3D using RED Epic cameras. A rig designed by 3ality Technica is being used in the filming of the two films; here two cameras and a mirror are used in order to achieve an intraocular effect similar to that of a human's (the distance between the eyes). This is how the depth required for 3D film is achieved.[18]

Most of John Howe's and Alan Lee's concept art has continued to be produced in 2D. However, they have collaborated on 3D pieces using the simple red and blue 3D effect.[18]

48 frames per second

Breaking with conventional filming techniques, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again are being filmed by capturing 48 frames per second. This is twice the normal 24 frames per second and is much closer to how the human eye works, which can see 60 frames per second. This makes the film look far more realistic. When describing what people thought when they saw clips of The Hobbit shown at 48 frames per second, Peter Jackson said that it's 'like the back of the cinema has had a hole cut out of it where the screen is and you're actually looking into the real world'.[18]

Additionally, the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and The Hobbit: There and Back Again are being filmed at a 5K resolution. This is substantially larger than the conventional 1080 HD resolution. The films are being filmed digitally onto 128 GB memory cards that fit into the RED Epic camera.[18]

One of the drawbacks of filming 48 frames per second at 5K resolution is that the make-up, prosthetic, prop, set, and costume departments have to work differently. For example, the make-up and prosthetic departments have to redden up the faces of the actors much more than usual because otherwise their skin colour will turn up yellow on the final film. Furthermore, real hair has to be used in order to achieve an authentic look when it moves around.[18]

On 17 December 2011 it was announced that the Lego Group had received the rights to create Lego sets based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. The first sets on The Hobbit are scheduled to be released in the end of 2012.[21]